Bella's Drinking Problem
by ICMezzo
Summary: Newbie vamp Bella has an itty-bitty problem: She just isn't in touch with her new body's needs. Can Edward help her find the instinct within? Bella x Edward. Rated M.


**Bella's drinking problem**

_**A/N: **__My first Edward/Bella pairing. Oh, and never fear; though this was originally written for the "There will be blood contest," you are still pretty safely inside the ICMezzo angst-free zone. Also, many thanks to TwilightMundi and Mrs. Agget for betaing this one._

_As always, Stephenie Meyer owns everything you recognize._

_This is most definitely rated M for "MmmmLemons."_

_Thanks for reading. Enjoy!_

_**FFn Acceptable Summary: **__Newbie vamp Bella has an itty-bitty problem: She just isn't in touch with her new body's needs. Can Edward help her find the instinct within?_

* * *

"Edward, I'm so thiiiirsty," Bella whined.

I sighed. "I know. We'll figure this out," I told her, pressing her against my body as we lay together on my bed.

But honestly, I wasn't sure what to do. None of us were. We expected Bella to have the same basic characteristics as all newborn vampires. I suppose we should have known better. As a human, she constantly surprised me with her actions, and I loved her for it. Apparently this held true for her vampire self as well.

Even Jasper, who had dealt with a thousand newborns, had never seen the likes of her.

Just the thought of it was insane: A vampire who was disgusted by the thought of blood.

A sharp laugh left my throat.

The problem was, it wasn't funny. If we couldn't get Bella to drink, she would have no way of getting the nutrients her new body needed. This was a serious problem.

I think we all secretly hoped that as she became accustomed to her new body and new needs, or perhaps, if she simply got thirsty enough, she'd give in to her instincts. But we were now on day nine after she'd woken after her change, and still, nothing. She hadn't drunk a drop, nor did she seem inclined to do so anytime soon.

I kissed her perfect pale neck and rolled her on top of me.

She was so very tempting. I looked at her exquisite naked form. At least I could meet this need of hers, and make her forget the other for a few minutes more.

It seemed it was the only thing I was able to do to give her any comfort right now. Luckily, it was something I quite enjoyed myself.

But as much as I loved my beautiful Bella, I couldn't think of anything but her when she pressed her lips to me. And we had a major problem to solve.

Then again, I may have been a vampire, but I was also very much a man.

"Eh, what problem?" I thought, and I gave in to her yet again, for the third time in a row.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

The day her change had finally been completed, I'd tried to take her hunting. Actually, I succeeded in the hunting aspect. She'd been a natural, as would be expected of any vampire. She'd easily outrun me and snagged a nearby elk. It was sexy as hell. But once she'd captured it in her iron grasp, she turned to me with her impossibly large brown eyes wide and asked, "Now what?"

I'd been so caught off-guard that I'd nearly run into a tree.

"What do you mean, 'now what?'" I asked. "You drink, of course."

"But it smells really gross," she said, wrinkling her nose.

"You'll get used to the flavor, and it will quench your thirst," I explained.

She turned and looked at the frightened animal in her arms. She sniffed it once or twice.

"That's right. Go ahead," I encouraged.

And with that, she promptly released her grip. The elk fled into the woods.

I was too stunned to grab it as it ran by.

I looked at Bella. "Are you not thirsty?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

She crinkled her brows. "No, I am very thirsty, but I couldn't drink that. That's... repulsive."

I thought for a moment. Perhaps I shouldn't have chosen an herbivore as her first meal. I lifted my head and breathed deeply, seeking the scent of a nice bear or mountain lion in the wind. Luckily, there was one only a few miles to the west of our current location. And it hadn't taken long to determine that Bella loved to run. I think she was making up for her human life, during which she rarely walked without stumbling.

"Bella, you up for a run?" I asked. "I think we should try a carnivore. They tend to smell a bit more appealing."

Her initial excitement turned to doubt. "Okay," she finally nodded. "Let's try it."

I let her guide us to the young mountain lion on the other side of the mountain. Once again, she captured it easily, but again, after doing so, she just looked at it with a growing look of discomfort on her face.

She looked up at me, suddenly seeming nervous. "Edward, I'm sorry. I just can't."

I wracked my brain. Perhaps she just wasn't sure how to proceed, or maybe she was having problems ending the animal's life. I had an idea.

"Want to share?" I asked her. "I could have some and then you could take over. Would that be easier?"

I was pretty thirsty, and mountain lion _was_ my favorite. If it would help Bella, I was happy to take a drink.

Bella had a look of disgust written across her gorgeous features.

"Come on, you always said you wanted to see me hunt. So, here I go. Watch and learn," I grinned at her, hoping to ease her mind a bit.

She released the animal into my arms, and I immediately dug in, judiciously snapping its neck to keep it from pain, then quickly opening its throat. I leaned down and sucked greedily from its jugular.

After a few minutes, I glanced up to gauge Bella's reaction.

She had her eyes squeezed shut and wasn't breathing.

"Bella?"

"Yes?" she replied, still not opening her eyes.

"Want to have a drink?" I offered. It was rather tasty, as animals go.

"Umm, no?" she responded as though she was asking a question.

She opened her eyes and looked at my mouth, then down to the mountain lion's throat, then back up to my mouth. I licked the blood off my lips and offered her the animal.

She gave it one more quick glance before suddenly darting at least a hundred yards away, where she proceeded to bend over while leaning against a large evergreen.

I dropped the animal and was instantly at her side.

"Bella, what's wrong?"

"I'm gonna be sick," she mumbled in her new bell-like voice.

"Well, actually, you're probably not," I started to explain. Unless she'd eaten some human food when I wasn't looking, she was not going to be vomiting anytime soon.

Except that while vomiting wasn't on the menu, apparently nausea and dry-heaving very much were.

I watched in horror as my wife's insides clenched and heaved. Now what?

After a moment, she quietly suggested that I finish the animal and then dispose of it so she wouldn't have to smell the blood any longer. After she convinced me that she'd be okay for a few moments, I did just that. I was too confused to argue.

Bella was thirsty but she wouldn't drink the only substance that would give her any relief. I had no idea how to help her.

We'd returned home after that. I was eager to hear what Carlisle and Jasper might have to offer, because I was out of ideas.

Unfortunately, they were as puzzled as I was.

Eventually we determined that Carlisle should obtain some donated human blood. We decided that Bella's reaction was most likely due to the slightly off-putting scent of animal blood. Perhaps it would be necessary to start Bella off with our natural food source before weaning her off it and onto animal blood.

However, if it was possible, this proved even less successful.

When Carlisle handed her the mug of re-warmed blood he had obtained from the hospital, she took one look at it and her body went slack and she slid down in the chair she had been sitting in until she was lying awkwardly on the floor while Carlisle still had his arm reached out to her with his offering.

"Bella?" I cried in alarm, kneeling beside her.

She peeked open one eye and shushed me. "Be quiet please, I'm trying to pass out," she said before closing her eye and letting her head fall to the side.

"I hate to tell you, but you can't do that anymore. Sorry, kiddo," Carlisle explained gently.

She popped up to her feet. "I was afraid of that. Well then, how do I get away from that blood so I don't have to smell it?"

"Stop breathing?" I suggested.

"Well, that's dumb. How am I supposed to smell you if I stop breathing?" she asked me, while tucking herself into my arms.

"I guess you're just stuck between a vampire and a hard place, love. A vampire and a hard place," I joked to hide my fears as I watched my siblings fight over who got to drink the cup of human blood—a rare treat indeed for a Cullen.

In the subsequent days, I watched her eyes become blacker and knew her thirst was becoming all the more desperate. Meanwhile, we did our best to approach the situation creatively.

Esme, for one, tried to mix some fresh blood into a sort of milkshake for Bella. We hoped that she'd be able to tolerate the disguised scent and consistency that way. Of course, she'd have to regurgitate the remaining ingredients, but at least she could get some nutrients from the blood in the process.

Esme even went so far as to put it in a travel coffee mug so Bella wouldn't have to see the unappealing brownish color of her new creamy drink. There was little to do about the scent though; which every member of the family found disgusting. For most of us, it was the sugary milk that we found grotesque. But Bella, who now shared our extremely-developed olfactory sense, objected to the smell of the other main ingredient.

She described the scent as rusty and salty. And though I certainly disagreed—no salt had ever smelled that good in my opinion-what could I say? She felt bad enough for the situation, though we were quick to let her know that we didn't consider her unusual palate to be her fault.

It was obvious that Bella wanted the milk-shake idea to work. To her credit, she gave the beverage the good old college try; she held her nose, closed her eyes, and took a large mouthful of the thick drink.

I'm not entirely sure anyone was truly surprised when she promptly spit it out onto the kitchen floor and immediately went to the sink to gargle with water and wipe her perfect mouth out with a paper towel.

If not for the fact that she didn't trip on the way to the sink, I might have questioned whether my wife was even a vampire at all.

Esme tried the human-food disguise one more time before giving up entirely. Esme had me take Bella out running one day so she could cook some black pudding for Bella without her smelling the main ingredient in the process.

We were uncertain whether the blood would retain its necessary nutrients despite being cooked, or if Bella's system would even be able to tolerate solid food. And of course, the sausage-like substance would be unlikely to quench her thirst, but we were getting desperate.

When I returned with Bella, we could both smell Esme's dish before we'd even made it into the house. "Yummm," I murmured, hoping to plant the suggestion in Bella's head that the odd aroma was a pleasant one.

She looked at me like I was crazy, however, and I knew that we were probably kidding ourselves to hope for success this time around.

Had the situation not been so dire, it might have been funny to watch Bella's sense of good manners war with her disgust. When we got to the house, she took the dish from Esme and thanked her profusely before running off to our bedroom with it "so she could eat in peace." A few minutes later she returned, patting her stomach and licking her lips. "Esme that was sooo delicious. Thank you!"

My wife's acting skills were ridiculous at best. I sighed. "Bella, we heard you jump out the window and bury the sausage in the woods."

"I was full?" she said in response.

I pulled my amazing woman into a tight embrace. Even though I couldn't read her thoughts, I knew she was trying her best.

Esme flitted over and kissed the top of Bella's head. "It's okay, dear. We just wanted to try to make sure the answer wasn't to be found in that European cookbook I picked up a few years back."

There were other ideas that had come up along the way as well. Carlisle, for one, contemplated intravenous feeding for a time, before realizing there was no needle capable of piercing my wife's new flesh.

Fashion-conscious Alice suggested at one point that I paint my lips with blood and try to trick Bella into kissing it off, thereby allowing her to discover that the flavor was actually quite wonderful.

And Emmett even suggested that we let Bella grow weak and then take advantage of her lack of strength to hold her down and force the beverage into her. I knew he meant Bella no harm, but this was an option I would not consider. I would not stand by and watch my new wife weaken, dying of thirst, in front of my eyes.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

It was now days later and we'd made no further progress. Bella had taken to clasping her hands around her throat and grimacing when she thought I wasn't watching. It was painful for both of us.

Our only comfort and release was in each other, literally. Her need for sustenance was quickly forgotten when she alleviated my need with her slender hand or talented mouth. And I knew her thoughts were far from her drinking problem whenever I greedily placed my mouth on her, sucking and drinking in her arousal. Simply put, there was nothing else in the world for us when we came together, something at which we turned out to be quite talented.

We spent a lot of time in our bedroom those first days. Despite our inexperience, instinct was kind to us in this respect, and we were naturals when it came to intimacy.

I was unclear why she reacted to both acts, both so natural and sensual, so very differently.

But while I tried not to let Bella see my frustration, lest she think it was in reaction to her, the feeling grew as days wore on. Why couldn't I teach her something that was so natural to me? Had I done something so very wrong the first time I'd taken her out hunting that it was now irreversible? Were we wrong to try to prepare her so fully for her new life before her change so that she had ended up burying her instinct too thoroughly and now overthought all her actions?

Carlisle and I puzzled over this in his office on day, Bella having gone shopping with Alice for a few toiletries.

We were out of ideas. But perhaps it was because Carlisle's thoughts were so quiet that I heard Rosalie's internal response to our conversation.

_Sex, blood, sex, blood. Fuck, one's fantastic, but both, ungghh. Mmm, sex, blood, sex, blood. God, what's so hard to get about that? Bella's crazy. She doesn't know what she's missing. I wonder where Emmett is. Sex, blood, sex. Fuck. Sex. Sex, blood, sex. Sex _and _blood. Hmmm. I wonder if he's thirsty and in the mood for a little extra special fun. Blood, sex, blood. Fuuuuuck._

And then she pictured herself and Emmett having extra special fun.

And _that's _when I wanted to wash my mind out with soap.

Except that...

Well...

Maybe?

Could I really?

Would Bella ever?

What if I, well...

Would it get her to drink?

It was the last question that I couldn't dismiss. If there was even a chance...

**XXXXXXXXXX**

I planned carefully. I knew I'd have only one opportunity.

It was day 14, and it was time.

"Hey, Bella? Wanna go for a run?" I asked her casually from across the living room. She sat on the floor leaning against Alice's legs as she read _Les Miserables_.

"Hmm?" she said, turning to me. "Oh, um, sure. We can go if you want."

A half-second later, her nose was back in her book.

Her nonchalance was a sign that Bella's situation was getting desperate. She loved to run. If she didn't care, or felt tired—practically a foreign concept to vampires—it meant she was already starting to weaken. I hurt for her, wept inside for the agony she now chose to bear alone.

Jasper looked up, confused, from where he sat next to Alice. I could understand why. Without providing many details, I'd enlisted his help to get things started. He was supposed to feed Bella subtle waves of lust when I gave the sign. But this feeling was entirely discordant with my current pain and desperation. No wonder he was confused. Nevertheless, I gave Jasper a nod and mouthed the words, "Me too, please."

"You got it. Have fun!" he thought.

I felt the effects of his efforts almost immediately. The plan was on.

"Bella?" I asked again.

She looked up at me a second time, but this time her eyes met mine for only a half-second before slowly traveling up and down my body. I had a hard time suppressing my smile. Nice work, Jasper.

When her eyes found mine again, she looked more eager.

"Did you want to go?" I asked.

"Sure." She winked.

And that was when Alice froze with her mouth open and her eyes wide. "Oh!"

I grimaced, knowing that Bella's decision made our immediate future perfectly clear in Alice's mind. Having experienced Rosalie's version of what we were about to attempt made me pity her. Sometimes it was better not to know.

She looked at me. I stared back. We were frozen just a second too long, and Bella noticed.

"Is everythi—" she started to ask.

"Yep, it's good. Have fun!" Alice said brightly, thankfully guessing that Bella's ignorance was critical.

Bella frowned in confusion so I looked at Jasper. He cued up another wave of lust.

Bella jumped up, and dashed to the door, confusion forgotten. "Ready?" she asked innocently, as she bit her lip.

Fantastic. I mentally high-fived Jasper, wishing I could acknowledge him openly. That, however, would have to wait. I had a vampire to feed.

I followed Bella out the door.

We ran for several miles, teasing each other as we dashed over the land. She'd slap my ass then pick up speed, I'd lick her neck and dodge an elm. I suppose it was an odd sort of foreplay, but it worked for us, I thought as I pinched her nipple while we simultaneously jumped over a small stream.

When we landed on the other side, she attacked me, tackling me to the ground as she planted kisses across my jaw and nipping at my earlobe.

I let her, until I decided it was my turn. I flipped her back to the ground and knelt next to her, pinning her arms together above her before leaning in and licking and biting her perfect lips. I secretly longed to cover her with passionate kisses, but I knew I had to keep things light and playful. I nipped at her.

She squirmed beneath me, and I knew I had to move to the next phase of my plan. I licked her nose a final time before getting to my feet and dashing off toward the west in the direction of the nearest mountain lion.

"Hey!" she cried, and took off after me, either not noticing or caring about the scent of the animal far off in the distance.

We ran, her on my heels, several miles before I slowed, the animal's scent now heavy in the air.

"Edward," Bella whined. "Come on..."

She stopped running, her playful mood vanished.

I took a few steps back to where she'd come to a halt.

"Trust me," I whispered, and kissed her lips. "We're going to catch it, not eat it."

_At least, for now,_ I mentally amended.

She nodded, and followed further behind me now as I stealthily approached the animal. I knew it wasn't the hunting aspect that she minded; the chase was actually enjoyable to us both.

I was careful to come at the animal from the necessary direction to achieve my goal. At the perfect moment, I jumped out, catching it off-guard. The feline reacted appropriately, dashing off in the opposite direction where it was cornered by unfriendly landscape. It only had one option for escape—up. It took it.

Soon, Bella and I stood beneath the large tree in which the lion now sat.

I turned to Bella and grinned. "Got it! Now I got you!" She squealed as I picked her up and spun her around, hoping to get back to the playful mood we'd embraced not long before.

Her frisky mood quickly returned as we chased and toyed with each other beneath the tree where the cat was perched, effectively ignoring it while it paced, unaccustomed to the role of prey rather than predator, on the branch above.

I captured Bella in my arms and kissed her beautiful lips, my hands moving to her perfect ass. It wasn't long at all before she released her hands from my hair in order to tear my shirt off my back, releasing it to the wind. Her mission accomplished, she ran her fingernails down my chest, leaving me growling with want and need for my wife.

Her shirt followed, though I took care not to shred it so thoroughly so she'd be able to return to the house more modestly clothed than I'd now be able to.

My hands similarly found her chest, cupping and palming her exquisite breasts until I could no longer refrain from tasting her. The need to have my lips on her; the draw was that of the strongest magnet and as unwavering as gravity.

Pants followed shirts, hastily removed by lightening fast, needful fingers.

I took advantage of the half-second it took her to leap into my arms, admiring her (now) graceful but ever-exquisite body, freezing the image forever in my brain. My Bella. My forever Bella.

My perfect recall meant nothing when it came to her form; every time I saw her bared for me, it was more than I remembered. Hard and soft, vulnerable yet strong. She was everything, all at once. I couldn't get enough.

I wondered what the heavy scent of the mountain lion did for Bella. For me, the experience was exceedingly potent, as yet another of my senses was heightened and aroused.

I caught her as she leaped on to me and locked her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck as I stood beneath the tree. No other preparation necessary, a small shift later and we were one, a most perfect union.

And it was perfect, actually; I couldn't have planned a better position for what was to come.

But first, I needed to bring Bella right to the edge... without letting either of us fall off.

My lips found her neck as she moaned and ground down on me. I began lifting her hips rhythmically with my arms, and with increasing tempo as our passion mounted.

Mouths on hungry mouths. On necks. On breasts. Sucking fingers, earlobes, nipples. All perfectly in tune with the rocking of hips, and the rise and fall of her on me.

I recognized my Bella's signs as she approached the precipice. It was time.

Stilling us, and clutching her tightly to me, her hips still tightly around my waist, I moved us, backing up toward the tree. I held her in the iron cage of my arms to protect her from any jostling and then, before she thought to question me, I leaped into the air.

We handed perfectly balanced on the same limb as the startled mountain lion.

Bella looked at me, and I met her gaze, urging her again to trust me.

The mountain lion looked wary, perched farther out on the branch than it might have otherwise been comfortable, and now trapped there while Bella and I occupied the larger section of the branch close to the tree's trunk.

But I ignored the animal, and turned Bella so her back rested against the tree trunk, and recommenced our previous activities.

Thrusting, moaning, tickle, whimper, arch, clench. I touched her where she needed it most, my thumb bringing her pleasure as she used her hips to move on me.

Soon, I heard Bella say the words that cut through my stone heart each and every time.

"Edward, I love you. Unghh, I'm going to..."

"I know. Me too," I whispered.

I captured her lips on mine, and without missing a beat, I backed us up until we were only a few feet from the lion.

"Bella, come for me," I mouthed into her neck.

She did. I felt her body start to tremble and tighten around me. As soon as she began to tumble over the edge, I let her cling to me under her own power. With my now free hands I reached behind me and snagged the lion around its throat and gave it a jerk, snapping its neck.

I looked back to Bella to gauge her reaction. My actions had only taken a half-second so I knew she was still in the midst of her orgasm. I hoped it was enough.

She was staring at the animal in my hands and then slowly she looked back at my eyes. Time stood still.

_Please, Bella, don't think. This is for you. Trust me. It will help satisfy you in a way I never can. Don't think._

I held the animal to her.

_Please._

She nodded only once. In a fluid motion, she loosed her hands from my neck and grabbed the animal while my hands found her back, and supported her. I moved in her gently to prolong her orgasm, hoping to make it easier for her.

I bit her neck, showing her. I felt her tense up for a split second and fear washed over me. I held my breath.

But it turned out to be unnecessary. Bella placed her lips on the mountain lion's neck and she tore through the flesh effortlessly, quickly finding the jugular.

I felt her swallow. Could it be? Had it worked?

She moaned, and swallowed again.

I was afraid to move, lest she pause to think and realize what she was doing. I buried my face in her shoulder and prayed.

After a minute, I felt her body relax. I looked up.

She was grinning at me with lips covered lightly in blood. I watched as she held the drained animal out with one hand and then dropped it so it fell to the ground. She giggled.

I couldn't contain my exuberance. I kissed her mouth a hundred times, laughing with her at her success. And soon she began moving again on me, and now, with the weight off Bella's thirst off my shoulders, and the taste of blood on my love's lips, I spiraled into my own orgasm.

"Thank you," she said, pressing her forehead to mine, after I'd had a bit of recovery time.

"My pleasure, trust me," I replied, as I set her down and we sat on the branch.

"So, um, I'm still thirsty," she said after a moment.

"Yeah, that'll happen," I commented. "Unfortunately it never fully goes away. We're never fully satisfied."

"Help me try anyway?" she asked.

I turned to look at her with an eyebrow raised, noticing her eyes were now lighter in color. It made me smile.

"Well, I still don't think I could drink _that_ again on my own," she said and shuddered. "But you, well, you know I can't think straight when I'm with you, and I just got so caught up in you that I was able to disregard everything else."

I smiled to myself. It had worked like a charm.

She paused for a moment before continuing. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that you'd better stay close. Because I'm going to need more to drink and quite frankly, I'm going to need you to do it. So I hope you like sex, because I plan on drinking a lot."

"Nope, I hate it," I deadpanned.

She laughed and pushed me off the branch. "Go take out the trash," she joked, pointing at the carcass on the ground near where I'd landed. I took it and moved a few yards away to dispose of the remains, speeding up the process significantly when I heard her next words.

"Hurry up, will you? I think I'm ready for seconds."


End file.
